Lugtu

*707 Opinion

Plaintiffs, passengers in an automobile that had been pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer into the center median strip of a highway for a traffic violation, were injured when a pickup truck ran into their automobile from behind, while the automobile was stopped in the median strip. Plaintiffs thereafter filed this personal injury action against (1) the driver of the pickup truck, (2) the driver of the automobile in which they were riding, and (3) the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the CHP officer who had directed their vehicle to stop in the center median, alleging that each defendant had been negligent and bore some legal responsibility for plaintiffs’ injuries.

Prior to trial, the CHP and the CHP officer—the only defendants involved in the appeal now before us (hereafter generally referred to simply as defendants)—filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that plaintiffs’ action against them should be dismissed on the ground, among others, that the CHP officer owed no legal duty of care to plaintiffs. After the parties filed declarations and counterdeclarations (including a copy of portions of the applicable CHP Officer Safety Manual),…

I respectfully dissent.

Like the majority, I agree that a police officer owes a general duty of care to the passengers in a vehicle stopped by that officer. I, however, believe the majority errs in formulating the appropriate standard of care. Under the undisputed facts, Officer Hedgecock’s legal duty to plaintiffs did not include a duty to stop plaintiffs somewhere other than the center median of the freeway. Thus, Officer Hedgecock did not breach his legal duty to plaintiffs as a matter of law. Accordingly, I would reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal and affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment for defendants.

*727 Like the existence of a legal duty, the scope of that duty is a question of law for the court. (Merrill v. Navegar, Inc. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 465, 477 (Merrill).) In discussing the scope of Officer Hedgecock’s duty, the majority characterizes the issue as whether an officer “always satisfies” the duty of care by stopping a traffic violator “at any location off of the travel lanes of a highway.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 718.) Relying exclusively on Ramirez v. Plough, Inc. (1993) 6 Cal.4th 539 [ 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 97 , 863 P.2d 167 , 27 A.L.R.5th 899 ]…

Plaintiffs, passengers in an automobile that had been pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer into the center median strip of a highway for a traffic violation, were injured when a pickup truck ran into their automobile from behind, while the automobile was stopped in the median strip. Plaintiffs thereafter filed this personal injury action against (1) the driver of the pickup truck, (2) the driver of the automobile in which they were riding, and (3) the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the CHP officer who had directed their vehicle to stop in the center median, alleging that each defendant had been negligent and bore some legal responsibility for plaintiffs' injuries.

Prior to trial, the CHP and the CHP officer—the only defendants involved in the appeal now before us (hereafter generally referred to simply as defendants)— filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that plaintiffs' action against them should be dismissed on the ground, among others, that the CHP officer owed no legal duty of care to plaintiffs. After the parties filed declarations and counter-declarations (including a copy of portions of the applicable CHP Officer Safety Manual),…